Automated generation of a finite element stent model.
Numerical simulations have proven to be a valuable tool to investigate the mechanical behavior of stents. These computer models require a considerable amount of preprocessing and computational effort and consequently there is a continuous need for accurate simplifications and automation. For example, it was recently shown that using beam elements instead of solid elements results in a significant speed up of stent simulations. However, the currently applied techniques to create a finite element mesh starting from stent samples remain time-consuming. We present a semi-automated strategy to obtain an accurate finite element beam mesh from a stent sample. The method consists of two steps: (1) A triangulated surface representation of the stent geometry is obtained from micro CT images. (2) Subsequently, a beam mesh is automatically generated by computing the centerline. The method is time-effective and results in an accurate 3D stent model as demonstrated for the MULTI-LINK Vision stent.
Mortier
Peter
P
Cardiovascular Mechanics and Biofluid Dynamics Research Group, Institute Biomedical Technology (IBiTech), Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Gent, Belgium. P.Mortier@UGent.be
De Beule
Matthieu
M
Van Loo
Denis
D
Masschaele
Bert
B
Verdonck
Pascal
P
Verhegghe
Benedict
B
D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D015607:Stents; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed